Lock construction for storage box

ABSTRACT

A lock construction for a storage box having a pair of complementary closure portions which complete the box enclosure comprising at least one locking tab attached to one of the closure portions and a locking recess defined in the other closure portion. The tab is inserted into and retained in the recess to effect a locked closure of the storage box.

United States Patent Furniss et al.

[ 1 Feb. 15,1972

[54] LOCK CONSTRUCTION FOR STORAGE BOX [72] Inventors: William R.Furniss, Glendale; Dominick Verga, Mequon, both of Wis.

[73] Assignee: Milprlnt, Inc., Milwaukee, Wis.

[22] Filed: Oct. 24, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: v869,220

[52] U.S.Cl. ..l90/48, 150/42, 190/55 R [51 Int. Cl ..A45c 3/00 [58]Field ofSearch ..190/55, 48; 229/45; 150/42;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,266,605 8/ 1966 Andersonet al 190/48 3,339,781 9/1967 Schurrnan et a1. ..190/48 X 2,808,09210/1957 Green 150/42 3,122,289 2/1964 Prahl, Jr. ....222/566 3,282,476 11/1966 Tracy ....222/484 3,391,765 7/1968 Baker ..220/3 16 3,404,81610/1968 Weber ..222/566 X Primary Examiner-Samuel F. Coleman AssistantExaminer-Norman L. Stack Attorney-Donald G. Casser and Adrian L.Bateman, Jr.

' [57] ABSTRACT A lock construction for a storage box having a pair ofcomplementary closure portions which complete the box enclosurecomprising at least one locking tab attached to one of the closureportions and a locking recess defined in the other closure portion. Thetab is inserted into and retained in the recess to effect a lockedclosure of the storage box.

1 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PAIENTEDFEMS I972 INVENTORS WILLIAM R.FURNISS DOMINIC VER6A-.

ATTORNEY LOCK CONSTRUCTION FOR STORAGE BOX BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to the art of closures for storage receptacles,more particularly, locking closures for such articles.

Many types of locking constructions for storage boxes and similarreceptacles are known in the prior art. In general, how ever, theselocks incorporate a pair of complementary lock members including a hookor a finger and a latch adapted to cooperate therewith in which thelatch comprises an upstanding or projecting lip, nib or bar. See, forexample, US. Pat. Nos. 3,391,765, 2,808,092, and 2,687,154.

Prior art locking structures such as those described above have a commonfeature in that the latch member extends from the surface of the body ofthe receptacle. Further, both members of the locking structure are oftenplaced on the exterior surface of the receptacle. These constructionspresent problems in that the projecting lock structure detracts from theappearance of the storage box, interferes with the handle function whena lock is attached to a handle portion of the storage box, and theprojecting member of the lock is subject to being broken away from thebody of the box such as when it is relatively small in size and made ofmolded plastic'material.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Our present invention provides a lockingconstruction for a storage box of the type having a receptacle bodyclosed on one portion by a pair of complementary closure portions inwhich the lock includes a tab integrally hinged to one closure portionand a recess formed in the other closure portion, there being one recessfor each such tab and the shape of the recess being the same as that ofthe tab. The tab has an extending hook portion which coacts with alip'portion of the recess to effect closure when the tab is insertedinto the recess.

Our present invention provides a lock construction for storage boxeswhich can be readily molded of plastic material, that is attractive inappearance in that the locking construction does not comprise elementsattached to the exterior surface of the storage box, and which willprovide a strong, effective lock for the storage box. Further, there isa reduction in the likelihood of damage to either element of our lockconstruction in comparison to locks having one or both elementsextending from the surface of the storage box.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention is described .inreference to the following drawings which illustrate a presentlypreferred embodiment of this invention in order to illustrate, notlimit, the invention inasmuch as it is anticipated that changes can bemade in the illustrated embodiment which will remain-within the truespirit and scope of this invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a storage box incorporating a lockconstruction of this invention in which the lock is shown in the closedposition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1 showing the lockconstruction in an open position; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, with a portion broken away, showing theclosed position of the lock construction in full lines and the openposition of the lock in dotted lines.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The storage box I illustratedin FIGS. l-3- is shown as being of the type comprising a lowerrectangular portion 2 having an open end which is closed bycomplementary closure portions 3 and 4. Each closure portion is hingedto the lower portion 2 in the manner illustrated by thehinge 5 joiningclosure portion 4 to the sidewall 6 of the lower portion of the storagebox. When the storage box is of molded plastic construction, the hinge 5is conveniently an integral hinge so that the entire box can be moldedas a single piece unit, preferably of polyethylene or polypropylene.

The closure portions of the storage box I have handle portions whichcombine with each other to form a completed handle when the box isclosed. With reference to FIG. 1, handle portion 10 is connected to theupper wall 11 of the closure portion 4 and handle portion 12 isconnected to the top wall 13 of the closure portion 3, the top wall 13being visible in FIG. 3. I

The storage box 1 as described to this point does not constitute part ofthe present invention, which relates to the lock construction employedwith the box.

Locking tabs 15 and 16 are joined to the handle portion 12, seeespecially FIGS. 2 and 3. Although two locking tabs are shown with thestorage box I, only a single locking tab and its complementary recessneed be used if the storage box is small and more than two tabs andrecesses may be used if the box is large. FIG. 3 illustrates theconstruction of locking tab 15 in I detail, it being understood thatlocking tab 16 is of the same construction. The locking tab 15 is joinedto the upper surface 17 of the handle portion 12 by means of an integralhinge 18. he locking tab has a lip 20 at its outer end. r The othermember of the lock construction of the presen invention comprises arecess formed in the handle portion 10, there being one recess for eachlocking tab. R'ecesses 25 and 26 are shown as being formed in handleportion 10, see FIG. 2;

each recess is of the same construction and recess 25 is shown in detailin FIG. 3. The recess has the same configuration-as the locking tab, andthe depth of recess 25 is equal toth'e thickness of the locking tab 15so that the locking tab when inserted in the recess in the full lineposition shown in FIG. 3 will be essentially coplanar with the uppersurface 15 of the handle portion 12. The outer portion of the recess 25includes a locking ledge 27 which is adapted to cooperate with the lip20 of the tab 15. When the storage box is made of molded plasticmaterial, it is most effective to position the locking ledge 27 relativeto the lip 20 such that there will be a firm engagement between the twoso that the tab will be retained in a closed position when the tab isinserted in the recess. This is readily accomplished when the box ismolded plastic due to the slight resiliency of the plastic material andwill provide a snap-action type of closure.

The unlocked position of the lock of this invention is illustrated inFIG. 3 wherein the locking tab 15 is shown in dotted lines, and also inFIG. 2. Closure of the box is effected by bringing the closure portions3 and 4 together and then hinging each locking tab downward so that itis received in its respective locking recess. In the locked position,the lip 20 of each tab engages the locking ledge 27 formed as partof thelocking recess. It will be noted from FIG. 3 that the cross-sec.- tionalshape of each locking tab corresponds to the cross-sectional shape ofthe handle of the box so that when the box is locked, each handleportion will be symmetrical. Thus, the locking tab 15 has an end wallportion 30 which corresponds in shape and slope to the end wall 31 ofthe handle portion 10. When the tab is inserted in the recess, thecombination of the end walls 30 and 31 corresponds in shape andappearance to the end wall 32 of the handle portion 12. Further, thelocking tab 15 is received entirely within each recess so that there areno projecting portions which extend beyond the handle of the box.Referring now to FIG. 1, the locking tabs 15 and 16 are coplanar withthe balance of the handle when they are inserted in their respectivecomplementary recesses, the only projection being hinges 18 which extendslightly beyond the surface of the handle. i

Our invention as described above provides a lock construction for astorage box of the type having a receptacle portion closed along one endby a pair of closure portions wherein the lock construction comprises atab attached to one portion and a recess defined in the other, therecess being the same configuration as the shape of the tab so as toaccept the same therein. Effective locked closure of the box is therebyobtained, while at the same time the lock does not detract from theappearance of the storage box and does not have projecting members whichcan be readily damaged. Further, when the lock construction is attachedto handle members of the box, the lock construction of this inventiondoes not project from the handle and therefore does not interfere withthe comfort or utility of the handle.

We claim:

l A lock construction for a storage box of the type having a receptacleportion, a pair of closure portions adapted to be brought together forclosure ,of an end of said receptacle portion, and a handle portionattached to each such closure por-' tion whereby a complete handle isformed when the two closure portions are brought together, said lockconstruction comprising:

at least one locking tab hinged to one of said handle portions and alocking recess defined in the other handle portion, there being onelooking recess for each such locking tab; an outer lip attached to eachlocking tab and an interior ledge defined in each locking recess, thelip and ledge being adapted to engage each other to hold a locking tabin a locking recess; each locking recess being of the same configurationas its respective integral locking tab and the depth of each recessbeingequal to the thickness of its respective locking tab so that a lockingtab will be essentially coplanar with its handle portion when insertedinto a recess, and the lip of each locking tab being of the sameconfiguration as the handle portion to which the tab is hinged so thatthe handle will have a symmetrical configuration when a locking tab isinserted into a locking recess.

22 g? UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3541102 'D te K February .15. 1972 Inven fl LmmE i and Dominick VeraaIt-iscert ified that error appears in the above-identified patent thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

and

F Column 3, line 13, insert rintegralbefore locking. .1

Column 4,1ine 7, cancel integral.

Signed and sealed this 13th day of June 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER ,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents

1. A lock construction for a storage box of the type having a receptacle portion, a pair of closure portions adapted to be brought together for closure of an end of said receptacle portion, and a handle portion attached to each such closure portion whereby a complete handle is formed when the two closure portions are brought together, said lock construction comprising: at least one locking tab hinged to one of said handle portions and a locking recess defined in the other handle portion, there being one locking recess for each such locking tab; an outer lip attached to each locking tab and an interior ledge defined in each locking recess, the lip and ledge being adapted to engage each other to hold a locking tab in a locking recess; each locking recess being of the same configuration as its respective integral locking tab and the depth of each recess being equal to the thickness of its respective locking tab so that a locking tab will be essentially coplanar with its handle portion when inserted into a recess, and the lip of each locking tab being of the same configuration as the handle portion to which the tab is hinged so that the handle will have a symmetrical configuration when a locking tab is inserted into a locking recess. 